Chapter 108: The Breakfast Disturbance

Li Er spent the entire night in the house warmed by the stove to eliminate any possibility of cheating. The room was open, and the people of Jinyang could lean against the window and chat with the second young master if they wished.

When the red sun rose over the eastern horizon, Li Er and Marquis Changsun Wuji, Hou Junji, and the others were fast asleep. Yun Hao quietly entered and draped a blanket over each of them. Although the stove had been burning all night, keeping the room warm, anyone staying up late would still shiver and tremble from the inside out at dawn.

Yun Hao certainly did not want to see a group of shivering men stumbling out before the crowd. That would unfairly undermine the stove’s heating abilities!

His movements were light, yet Li Er still woke alert. Changsun Wuji beside him kept his eyes closed but already had his hand gripping the hilt of his knife.

“Well, the day has come,” Li Er said, stretching lazily as he accepted the blanket. He was of average height, perhaps under six feet by modern standards, but years of martial training had forged his sinews into formidable strength. Looking up from Yun Hao’s perspective, Li Er appeared quite burly.

“Indeed, it is daylight,” Yun Hao replied, taking a pot from a servant. The millet porridge inside was boiled to a thin consistency. He ladled a bowl for Li Er and another for himself, sitting opposite without a word, and began eating with a slurping sound. As for Changsun Wuji—let him be. That old fellow had tried to behead him several times; generosity was never Yun Hao’s nature.

“Clever devil!” Li Er remarked, watching Yun Hao drink the porridge as he settled across from him. People like them did not eat just anything offered. Yet when the servant brought a pot of eggs soaked in dark liquid, Li Er was surprised.

“These are tea eggs, and the crab roe buns were handmade by my wife. We rarely get to enjoy them, so eat quickly, second master. If those fools wake up, they’ll devour the entire steamer basket,” Yun Hao said with a hint of resentment. Tea in this era was a far cry from what it would become later—it was brewed with cloves and nutmeg and even infused with animal fat. Yun Hao drank tea to cut through grease; who wanted to sip oily broth?

He had searched all over Jinyang for tea trees to make some roasted tea but found none and had to give up. Now he would rather drink plain boiled water than tea. Still, tea eggs were tolerable, if a bit lacking in flavor—better than plain boiled eggs, at least.

Yun Hao scooped up a tea egg with his spoon; the already cracked shell shattered into countless pieces on the table. He easily peeled it away, revealing the slightly browned egg beneath. Not intending to offer such an unrefined delicacy to Li Er just yet, he kept it to himself. People needed time to adapt to new things.

“Master! You’re here!” a voice suddenly rang out, filled with surprise. Yun Hao instinctively glanced toward the door, only to find it empty. When he turned back, the peeled tea egg was already lodged in Hou Junji’s mouth. He ate too quickly and began choking, his eyes rolling back in distress.

“Water…!” Hou Junji struggled to speak.

“How did you not choke to death?” Yun Hao grumbled, annoyed at having his egg snatched. He handed the bowl of porridge to Hou Junji.

Hou Junji, still coughing violently, gulped down the millet porridge in one go. Then he pounded his chest and jumped around the room, making shrill noises as if performing some shamanic ritual.

Although a thin layer on the porridge had cooled, it was still hot inside. Drinking so fast, Hou Junji’s tongue and throat burned fiercely—worse than death.

“That guy’s got a petty mind. You steal his egg, then drink his porridge—deservedly so,” Changsun Wuji said, quietly sitting beside Li Er. He ladled himself some porridge and slurped it down while mocking Hou Junji.

“You tried to behead me several times, and now you dare drink my porridge?”

“Of course, I knew you were petty, which is why I waited until you all finished before coming over. This pickled vegetable is good!” Changsun Wuji praised sincerely as he picked some up with his chopsticks.

No wonder he was the top figure in the Lingyan Pavilion. Even something as simple as drinking porridge involved careful planning and meticulous thought. Yun Hao sighed; to trick this guy would take years of practice.

“Just for stealing your egg—is it really necessary?” Hou Junji found the teapot and gulped a mouthful of cold tea, finally regaining his speech, though his tongue was numb and his voice altered.

“It is necessary! If you dared steal my egg today, tomorrow you’d try to steal my wife. The Yun family has many treasures, and we fear covetous eyes. So, when you infringe on my interests, you will meet fierce resistance. Generosity is a virtue, but not mine. Sometimes, one must not retreat.

Once you give ground, others will push you further. When you’re backed into a corner, picked clean and stripped bare, those same people will gnaw your bones and call you a fool. So, next time you set your sights on me, think carefully about the consequences!” Yun Hao spoke solemnly. Boundaries in relations were critical. By laying down his limits, anyone who crossed them would face brutal retaliation. With such a profound lesson, his adversaries should think twice before trying again.

“You…!” Hou Junji was speechless. He would never again trouble Yun Hao. The memory of that bowl of porridge was far too vivid.

“Oh, there’s porridge and buns.” Awakened by the aroma, Qi Biao and Lai Shun rushed over like wild boars, grabbing two buns in their hands. Suddenly spotting Li Er at the table, they quickly put them down. But the paw prints on the white flour were too obvious.

These two were starving and reckless—when they saw food, they risked everything. Now standing there, bewildered, they didn’t know whether to take it or not.

“Help yourselves!” Li Er smiled and offered the buns to Qi Biao and Lai Shun. Nobles were born knowing how to win hearts. He didn’t believe the large food box contained only one steamer basket of buns.

Sure enough, the two were deeply moved, their expressions vividly conveying overwhelming gratitude.

Yun Hao witnessed the entire scene of winning loyalty. The Heavenly Khan was the Heavenly Khan—some traits were etched in the bloodline. Li Er had rebelled against his father, then against his father’s rebellion, and finally had to guard against his own son’s rebellion. Without some cunning, living to a natural death was but a dream. Glancing at Hou Junji still panting, Yun Hao thought he too was a rebel, just an unsuccessful one. Rebellion required deep roots—without them, it was impossible.

From the food box, two more baskets of buns emerged. Li Er grinned, baring his teeth, and continued enjoying this rare breakfast of buns handmade by Zhang Miaoke.

Everyone in the room was immersed in the bliss of this feast when suddenly two burly men burst through the door. Just as they reached the threshold, a shout came through: “Second Master, bad news—there’s a rebellion!”